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Cuts to arts funding could be detrimental to academic achievement

Cut into the stone wall of the Kennedy Center — one of America’s bastions of art and culture — are John F. Kennedy’s words, “I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”

Chance the Rapper responded to the need this week by presenting a $1 million check to Chicago Public Schools Foundation, "for arts and enrichment programming" after what he characterized as an unsuccessful meeting with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. The Grammy-winning Chicago artist urged others, as well as corporations and foundations to do the same.

Illinois is not alone in its urgent need for arts funding in schools.

A 2011 report by the President’s Committee on the Arts, paints a consistent picture of the value of arts education in schools based on two decades of theory and policy recommendations from such entities as the National Governors Association, the Education Commission of the States, the National Association of State boards of Education, the Department of Labor SCANS Commission, and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Criteria used to gauge school success and student learning often include attendance and achievement in math and reading. Extensive research shows that students who study the arts in school demonstrate significantly more positive developmental outcomes than their peers who do not pursue arts coursework.

As a dance educator for 20 years, I encourage those who are concerned about the economy to think about how creativity and imagination translate to U.S. production. I have watched dozens of my students grow from young dancers barely capable of tying their ballet shoes into accomplished artists and educators themselves.

One student, who performed choreography as a high school student in his musical theater program, performed as a college student onstage at the Kennedy Center – the place where JFK’s words resonate so strongly. He now dances professionally with one of the most iconic companies in Chicago.

Findings indicate that arts students are highly active within school communities, are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors or participate in drug use. The Arts Education Partnership also associates arts programs with boosts in literacy and math achievement citing studies that suggest increased years of enrollment in arts courses are positively correlated with higher SAT verbal and math scores.

When considering challenges within Chicago Public Schools , the transformative nature of arts education for students with lower socio-economic status is even more significant.

James Catterall seminal 2009 study is based on the National Educational Longitudinal Survey that captured information on approximately 25,000 secondary school students over four years.

According to Catterall’s findings, extensive participation in arts activities was a noteworthy predictor of academic achievement and community involvement for disadvantaged students. Students with lower economic status benefited greatly from attending arts-rich schools in regards to college attendance, grades, employment, and level of terminal degree.

The study showed that low-income students in arts programs were also more likely to participate in volunteerism and engage in politics. English language learners who attended arts-rich high schools were significantly more likely to pursue a bachelor’s degree at age 20 and more likely to attain advanced degrees than their peers in non arts-rich schools.

The arts have a far greater impact than on academic achievement alone. AEP cites work preparedness as one key aspect of arts education. Through art programs, students strengthen problem-solving and communication skills, increase their capacity for leadership and creative thinking, build community, support civic engagement, and experience social tolerance that helps prepare them for life in an increasingly diverse world.

The statement reads, “Each day, 4.8 million Americans go to work in Arts and Culture industries. In fact, according to the US. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Arts contributed $730 billion to our GDP — which is larger than Construction, Transportation, and Travel & Tourism.”

To be sure, there is a danger in supporting the arts primarily for their contributions to academic achievement and the economy. Denying the arts’ intrinsic value as an element of humankind’s noble quest for truth and beauty limits our understanding of what role artists play in society. I don’t hear algebra professors having to justify their existence because learning math helps a musician play the clarinet better.

Art is transformative for the body, intellect, and spirit. Art sparks dialogue about underlying myths, values, and traditions in our culture. It embraces change as a process that is experiential, holistic, and communal.

In order to have the conversation about what art is and what it does, future generations of artists and consumers of culture must have context for that conversation.

Every state can help its children by elevating arts programming within our schools. It’s not too late for all American to demand that quality arts programs be a marker of a quality education.

Amy M. Wilkinson is an Advanced Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago, a dance maker, teacher and mentor with 20 years in dance performance and education. She is a Greenhouse Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.